What Came Next: Back Again
by Invader ZaiFae
Summary: A highly unlucky concatenation of events leaves one renegade Irken trapped in human guise on the Massive, desperately trying to avoid being discovered. What happens when Almighty Tallest Red and Purple find out ZaiFae has returned? Rated for language.
1. Prologue

I'm baaaaack!  …again…O.O  Anyway, truly have I returned, and I come bearing a SEQUEL!!!  *Dances for joy* And unlike most sequels, I happen to think this one just may be better than the original!  

Okay, a bit of background:  This story comes after _What Came before: On Irk_, and I would definitely read it before reading this…I mean, I suppose you could jump right into this one if you wanted to, but you'd definitely be lost.  *Nods*

Warning:  This story is rated the way it's rated for a reason.  There will be some stronger language in later chapters, and Red does some pretty nasty things later on.  That's all I can say, 'cause I don't want to give it away, but I have warned you, so I'd prefer it if I didn't hear any complaints that I didn't later on.  Thank you!

So, without any further ado, the prologue of _What Came Next: Back Again:_

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Here I go again, I promised myself

I wouldn't think of you today

It's been seven months and counting

You've moved on

I still feel exactly the same.

Purple lounged on a couch in his room.  His gaze was unfocused, his body relaxed, and if someone had snapped their fingers in front of his face, he probably would not have reacted.

_            He was thinking about her again.  It seemed that he couldn't stop.  Everywhere he looked, something reminded him of her, of-_

_            He couldn't, wouldn't, say her name.  Not out loud, not to someone else, not even to himself.  He knew he would never forget it though, no matter how much he tried.  Everything was a painful reminder._

_            *Isn't it funny,* he thought, *how you always take something for granted until it's gone?*_

It's just everywhere I go

All the buildings know your name

Like photographs and memories of love

Steel and granite reminders

The city calls your name and I can't move on

He knew it was obvious something was wrong with him.  Red had noticed it.  The advisors had noticed it.  The security guards had noticed it.  Even the housekeeping personnel and service drones had noticed it! If he didn't snap out of this melancholy state soon, some nasty rumors were sure to begin circulating.  

            _The door to his room snapped open suddenly and Red stormed in._

_            "Have you lost your mind?!" he demanded.  "We have to be at a very important meeting five minutes ago!"  Purple stood with a sigh._

_            "I'm coming."_

            Life had moved on.  Would he ever be able to? 

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Weehoo!  Super-short chapter!  Yay!  But never fear—I've this entire thing written already, so the next chapter will be up soon!  Review anyway, though, okay?  Please?

Oh yeah, Super-All-Encompassing-Disclaimer-of Power:  I don't own very much in here.  ZaiFae Luthuviel and Lightwing Moonstars are mine, as are the various Irkens who show up later: Noc and Lyros, Siena and Selkhar (I think that's all…).  The Dae-uial race is mine, too, so please ask permission if you wanna use any of 'em.  Everything else is owned by someone else.  The specific characters from IZ mentioned, as well as the concept of the Irken race, belong to Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon.  The various songs used throughout here belong to their various artists (Savage Garden, Eiffel65, and Evanescence).  Lessee…anything else I haven't mentioned probably doesn't belong to me.  I'm not making any profit off of any of this.  Thank you.  *Bows*

Okay, that's my super-duper disclaimer for the entire story!   Just so y'all know…

I'm done talking now.


	2. A New Home

It appears that no one read the first chapter of this.*Sigh* That is not so unexpected, though, and so I press onwards!  Hopefully ff.net will actually allow this chapter to show up somewhere other than on my profile alone.9.9

Oh.  The formatting for the prologue turned out to be a bit funky.there weren't any italics where there should have been.  Sorry about that!  *Blushes*  So.yeah.*Pokes ff.net with half a dirty spork*  Work, darn you!

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I gazed through the ship's view port at the planet ahead of me.  It was a tiny thing, almost virgin, spinning slowly in the darkness of space.  It was the only habitable planet in this system, and I had to take it.  It wasn't like I was nearly out of fuel or anything, but I certainly didn't have enough to get me into another solar system.  This one was quite isolated.

Tiny system, tiny sun, tiny planet.  I sighed.  It wasn't great, but it would have to do.  Besides, the whole thing was small and out of the way.  That means that the Empire would overlook it.for a while anyway.  It was too bad that ringed planet a little farther back was uninhabitable.  It was a beauty.

I accelerated, moving closer to my target, the system's third planet.  I had to admit, it was prettier than Irk; blue, green, and brown, overlaid with patterns etched in white.  The surface probes I had deployed began relaying back information.  I sorted through the data, looking for a suitable landing place.

Preliminary reports were leaning towards a large desert on one of the northern landmasses.  It was night there.  It was flat.  Plus, thermal scans revealed that most of the population seemed clustered in a few specific sites.  It wasn't too hot or too cold, at the moment, so I set my equipment to record anything it could and angled on down.

The best course seemed to be to angle in, orbit the planet once, and set down in my chosen site, so that's what I did.   I slid the ship into the atmospheric envelope of the planet and began to cruise relatively slowly at low altitude, picking up any images I could get.  I crossed the line from night into day over a huge expanse of ocean.  Probe reports classified it as H2O.  I wasn't sure what that was, so I made a mental note to obtain some samples later and experiment.  

I was approaching my chosen spot and angling in to land when my ship's external sensors began to go crazy.  The computer began to blare "Proximity alert!  Proximity alert!" right into my antennae.  My ship slammed to a sudden stop and flipped end over end.  I slid my fingers over the control panel, managing to right my ship in time to see a gray disc go whirling past.

I swung my ship around and followed the disc down, through the heavy cloud cover.  All too fast, the ground appeared under me, and I yanked the nose up with a curse and a swift flick of my fingers.  I watched as the disc, apparently out of control, hit the ground and bounced back up.  There was a gash along one side.  It impacted again, and dug a deep furrow in the ground before coming to a stop. 

I was intrigued, so I landed my ship some distance away and hopped out.  I approached the ship, moving as stealthily as I could.  I had no idea who or what was piloting the ship, so early Invader training had come into play, augmented by lessons with-I stopped my train of thought.  Better not to think of that now.

My whole body tense, I tiptoed to the gash and peered inside.  It took all my control not to cry out as I beheld the disc's sole occupant. 

A female Dae-uial sat in the ship, one hand pressed to a laceration at the base of her long, curving crest.  Hot pink blood seeped out from between her fingers.  She closed her eyes and pressed a little harder, and when she removed her hand, the wound was gone.  

Dae-uial regenerative powers?  I didn't know they had those.  Okay, now I was a bit worried.  Dae-uial are notoriously powerful, yes, but I didn't think an instantaneous healing ability counted among them.

I took a careful step back.  I didn't want her to see me.  The race was known galaxy-wide for their tempers.  Many an interstellar merchant had lost a limb in a Dae-uial fight, and then later his ship to Dae-uial retribution.  It was amazing that they didn't control all sentient species in the universe yet!  They had abilities above and beyond anything Irkens possessed, and a supreme intelligence to match, and it's very hard for me to admit that.

Undoubtedly, she would blame me for the wreck of her ship, so I tried to back away quietly.  Unfortunately, she noticed me.

"Freeze, Irken," she snapped.  Her voice was feminine, but deeper than I was accustomed to.  I obeyed her.  In the presence of a Dae-uial, especially one in the mood this one was bound to be in, one should always fear for one's life.  She stood and looked at me for a moment, before cocking her pointed, crested head, and appearing to listen to something in a distance.

I suppose this would be a good time to describe this Dae-uial.  She had a long, lithe body; of the shape I would later learn could be described as humanoid, though there are some points that would be noticeably out of proportion on a human female, if perfectly normal on a Dae-uial.    She had a pair of wide, four-pinioned, membranous wings.  These were of the same bright magenta hue as her body, a color that was unusual in any member of the species, who were usually more dully colored than that.  Her head was a distinguishing feature: she had a pointed snout, no doubt filled with sharp white teeth.  Rising from the back of it was an impressive, slightly curving, bony crest.  Her eyes, of a piercing yellow with black slits for pupils, were set on either side of her head, and between them was a white symbol of a crescent moon and star.  She wore a tight black and top and similarly fitting forest camouflage pants, with platform boots underneath.  

"Gah!" she snapped, coming out of her listening pose.  "D'you hear those sirens?  I'm sure you don't.  They're still too far away.  However, they're coming, and they mean trouble.  If you'd like to live a little longer, I'd suggest you lead me to your ship.  Now."  She swept imperiously out of the wreckage, and I hurried to catch up and pass her, so I could show her where my ship was.  Actually, that was unnecessary.  It was close enough for her to have already spotted it, and she strode purposefully towards it.  She slid herself into the pilot's seat, and I crouched behind, activating my mechanical legs to stabilize myself as she expertly activated my craft, overrode my security measures, and lifted it from the surface. 

As we flew over the desert, I noticed a line of vehicles underneath us, with flashing blue and red lights on top of them.  The Dae-uial pointed.

"Do you see those?" she asked.  I nodded, and she continued.  "You should always watch out for those.  They're bad news on this planet."  I nodded, and logged the info into my brain.  She tilted the ship in a wide arc and we doubled back the way we came.  The wreck, which was faintly smoking, though you couldn't really tell in the dark, was surrounded by those vehicles with the flashing lights.  

We weren't airborne for long.  The Dae-uial brought us down outside a sprawling complex of buildings out in the middle of the desert, quite some distance from it's nearest neighbors.  She shut off my ship and gestured for me to exit before her, which I did, though cautiously.  She got out and secured it.

"My name is Lightwing Moonstars, Irken," she began without preamble.  "And frankly, if I weren't so curious about why someone of your rank is here, I'd probably kill you.  However, it's been a while since I've had any real entertainment, so please, come inside.  Let's talk.  Then I'll decide whether or not to let you live."  She grinned ingratiatingly and took my arm, steering me inside.  I had no choice but to follow, and hope for the best.

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Okay, there's another chapter down.  I'll probably post these opening few relatively quickly, 'cause they're all kind of boring.  So.review please!  *Gives the readers puppy dog eyes*  I'll give y'all.um.partial kumquats if you do!  ^.^


	3. A Chance Meeting

Okay, just to increase the readership of this tale a little, I have moved the rating from R to PG-13 for the time being.  Hopefully someone other than MetaChi will read and review…*Sigh* The rating will go BACK to R when it is appropriate.  Thank you!

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That had been years ago, a little less than five, actually, by Irken standards.  However, since time on the planet I had landed on, which happens to be called Earth, is measured at a faster rate than on Irk, and something more like sixty years had passed.

            Lightwing and I had exchanged our stories, which was the first thing about her that surprised my.  Dae-uial, as a rule, tend to be secretive.  She took a liking to me, though, and we quickly became close—or what qualifies as close by their standards.  She took me under her wing for a while, helping me learn about the Earth, and it's many hazards.  And once she figured I knew enough to get by—BAM!—she kicked me out.  That didn't bother me, though.  I traveled around, visiting more of the planet I had taken for my new home, and taking on lots of different personalities.  Let me tell you, humans (the planet's inhabitants) are a weird bunch.  I haven't been on this planet all that long, and already there have been three major wars, as well as a flurry of minor ones!  I swear, if these people didn't reproduce so fast, they'd all be dead.

            They are not very technologically advanced, either, though their knowledge IS developing rapidly.  Actually, by Irken and Dae-uial standards, they are a backward bunch barely even worth considering sentient!  I will say this for them, though.  They are good at pampering themselves, and I mean GOOD.  Just their different varieties of food, while radically different from Irken foods, were enough to make me want to linger back then, and since then I've become somewhat…addicted, an additional imperative for remaining.

            Actually, on a whole, I rather like Earth, despite the relative and overall stupidity of the main species.  There's a lot of freedom there, something you really don't find on Irk.  And then there was the biological diversity!  Simply amazing for a planet of its size, and a relative heaven for someone with a scientific mind like my own.  

            I think the thing I found I liked the best about the planet, though, were its 'cryptids,' the various creatures around the globe that were considered mythical by the recognized scientific community, but were obviously very real to the locals.  To prevent myself from committing suicide out of sheer boredom, I had made it one of my goals to track down and classify all of the cryptids I could.  I was doing fairly well, so far, if I do say so myself.

            Not that the place didn't have its downfalls…mainly water.  Ooh, that is definitely one of the most foul substances I've ever had the misfortune to encounter, and it's is all over the place on Earth.  Luckily for me, Lightwing offered a bit of a solution to that one: a powder specially designed to counteract the effects of water in human liquids.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't work against pure water, but that was okay with me.  I had no need for the vile stuff in its pure form anyway.  

            Anyway, let's get back to the story.  Wait, that was the story.  So let's get back to the present!  I was standing in a Barnes and Noble nearby my current home up in a suburb outside of New York City.  I was browsing their occult/paranormal section; usually a safe enough occupation as almost no one else ever looked there, and I had been having trouble dealing with the overwhelming stupidity of humanity as a whole lately.  

            "I'll be in the comic book section, Dib," I heard some girl say to her brother over at the end of the aisle.  "I'll come find you when I'm done."  The kid sighed, and I glanced up at him.  Weird hair.

"Yes, Gaz," he said resignedly as she walked off.  I couldn't help but chuckle.  He was being bossed around by his little sister…poor sap.  I turned back to the meager shelf of books, skimming the titles.  There was one called 'The Mothman Prophecies,' and I reached for it, not having any books on the West Virginian phenomenon yet.  Someone else pulled it off the shelf before I could, though.  It was the weird hair kid.  

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, amazingly polite.  "Did you want this?"  He offered me the book, but I managed to conjure up a smile from somewhere as I shook my head.  

"No, thanks.  There's another copy."  I pulled it off the shelf.

"Did you see the movie?"  Why was he talking to me?  I sighed inwardly.

"Yeah.  I bet this will be better though."

"I'm sure of it," he assured me.  "They always are."  I smiled again, a little more genuinely this time.

"Yeah, that's true."  I turned away and looked over the books again, but there wasn't anything else I hadn't seen before.  The boy emitted the sigh I could feel brewing in me.

"There's never anything good here," he said.  I chuckled ruefully.

"This section is woefully lacking.  It's almost depressing," I said softly.  "What's your name, kid?"  He looked surprised I had asked, and I got the feeling people rarely talked to him for this long at a time.

"I'm Dib," he said, looking up at me.

"Nice to meet you, Dib.  I'm Alex," I said.  "It's short for Alexandra."  What?  I have to keep a low profile, and most humans aren't typically named ZaiFae.  Before he could respond, I pressed on.  Sometimes, if you're too forward, it'll scare of the humans just as effectively as being silent and unresponsive.  "So you into the paranormal?"

"Oh yeah!  It's my life!"  I smiled slightly.  Not only did he not seem stupid, he was into the paranormal.

"I'm into the cryptozoological myself," I said, "but all the rest of the paranormal is cool too."  He beamed up at me, and I couldn't help but feel a little more friendly towards him.  I took the book out of his hands.  "Let me buy this for you, and we can talk while we wait for your sister."

"What—?  How did you know I had a—?"

"I heard you talking to her earlier," I said offhandedly, walking out of the aisle.  He hurried to follow.  Even on this planet I wasn't an easy person to keep up with.  He began to protest, but I waved it off.  "Don't worry about it Dib.  It's rare to find someone with an interest in the paranormal!"  I paid for both of the copies of the book, and we took a seat at one of the small tables lining one side of the wall and struck up a quick conversation.  We hadn't been talking very long, though, when his sister approached, glowering at him and holding a bag of books.

"She's scary."

"I know."

"Come on Dib, we're leaving now."  

"I'll see you around, Alex," he said, sighing as he stood.  I scribbled an email address on the back of a paper bookmark and handed it to him.

"E-mail me," I said.  "We'll get together some day."  He pocketed it and nodded, waving his thanks as his sister dragged him out.  I sat there a few minutes more, before standing up and leaving myself.

Apparently, Dib had a lot of free time on his hands, because I got and e-mail from him later that night.  

"From: alienhunter24@paranoia.newsgroup.com

To: invaderzaifae@earthlink.net

Hey Alex,

It's Dib.  You met me in Barnes and Noble today.  Remember?  I hope so.  You said to send you an e-mail, so I did.  I hope you get this; your handwriting was a little bit hard to decipher!  Sorry if that's an insult, but it's true.  Listen, d'you want to meet me in the park tomorrow, around four?  There's something big I want to tell you, that I think you should know if you want to be friends with me.  Let me know, okay?

Thanks,

=^= Dib =^=

P.S.—What's up with your e-mail address?  It's freaky!"

I laughed a little as a read over his email.  He was right about my handwriting!  I had received many complaints about it over the years.  I shook my head, and wondered what was so urgent for him to tell me.  

His post-script brought me up short, but I shook it off as paranoia.  He seemed avid, but he couldn't know.  How to explain it, though?  I set about writing my reply.

"From: invaderzaifae@earthlink.net      

To: alienhunter24@paranoia.newsgroup.com

Hi Dib,

Yeah, this is my address.  Congratulations figuring out my handwriting!  That's no mean feat.  9.9

I'll meet you tomorrow, no problem, and I won't ask what you want to tell me, because you would have told me already, so it must be big.  I'm bursting with excitement!  See you tomorrow!

~*Alex*~

P.S.- I used to play that game 'Space Invaders' all the time, Zai is just a nonsense word that sounds cool, and Fae is another name for faeries.  Combine it, and you get Invader ZaiFae!!  It's an alias.  *Nodnod*"

            I hit the send button and sat back, watching as the window closed itself down.  He had no reason to disbelieve what I told him about my address, and I saw no reason to worry that he would suspect anything.  I shook my head.  I was getting paranoid.

            His reply didn't take long to come, but it was just a confirmation of time and place, and I shut down my computer after I read it.

            Irkens as a rule don't need much sleep, so I passed most of the night with a transmission to Lightwing.  She laughed over my sudden bout of fear of discovery, told me she was glad I was actually making a friend other than her, and let me know, in her own bitchy way, that she missed me.  It was past midnight when we said our farewells, and I retired to my room to sleep.  

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Shout out time! 

MetaChi:  Yeah, that's why it took so long to get it up—ZaiFae was having serious trouble working up the courage to write it down.  But we managed it!  ^.^  Heh, nah, Lightwing's more like lots of bark and even more bite, she just doesn't bite often. XD!!  You know, when I first wrote this, that chapter had all sorts of hints in it that Lightwing and ZaiFae's meeting happened on July 3-4, 1947, *coughRoswellcough* but when ZF and I re-wrote the chappie, all our carefully crated hints went bye-bye.  *Sigh*  Oh well!  

Review, please, will you folks?  Thank you!


	4. The Invader

Alright, all, here's the next chapter!  Hope y'all like it!  XD

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I knew I was early, but what's the harm, y'know?  It was about 3:30, and I was just walking into the park, hand curled around a cherry freezy.  I didn't look too out of place; now was about the time the Goth beatniks gathered in little covens to share their free form poetry and complain about how depressing and oppressive society was, and my disguise was set as a lacy red peasant top and a short leather skirt, with knee length boots to match, and short, spiked purple hair.  I found a vacant bench and set myself down to wait. 

            Whatever Dib had to tell me must have been urgent, because he arrived not too soon after I did, looking around as he strolled through the gates.  I sat up a bit straighter and waved, and he saw me and came over.  He eased himself down on the bench, watching the kids off in the distance play.

            "Hello, Alex."

            "Hello Dib.  You wanted to tell me something?"

            "Do you believe in aliens, Alex?"  His question caught me by surprise, and caused my suppressed paranoia to flare into life.  (When I had first landed on this planet, I refused to leave the relative safety of Lightwing's compound, for fear of being hunted down by some sort of government agency.  Then I realized how truly clueless most humans were.)  My hearts began whirring faster than an Earthen hummingbird's wings, and under the hologram, my antennae were doing these funny little twitches.  I flattened them down on the pretense of running a hand through my illusory hair and regarded him for a moment.

            "Yeah, I guess I do," I said carefully, wording my answer as I said it.  "Why?"

            "What would you say if I told you I knew there was an alien on Earth bent on taking over the planet?"  Again, this required quick thought and careful wording.

            "Well…I think I'd say that's an interesting theory, but can you prove it?"  He looked up at me.

            "But you don't think I'm crazy just for suggesting it?"  I leaned back against the bench in what I hoped was a nonchalant manner.

            "Dib, I've traveled out of the country numerous times chasing rumors," I said with a light laugh.  "I don't think you're crazy for suggesting it."  He smiled triumphantly.

            "I'm glad, because there's my proof!" he pointed out into the park.  It took me a moment to locate what he was talking about, but then I saw it, as a group of people walked away.  Two figures were standing in the center of a field, one stock-still, posture stiff and altogether military looking, while the other ran in rather mindless circles about him.

            They were both green.

            One of them looked like a dog, albeit one with a disproportionately small body and bulging eyes.  It was a bit hard to tell from here, but the thing appeared to look like a plush toy, complete with a zipper.  The other, though…well, I'm glad to say I had no reason to be paranoid.  Obviously an alien, one with green skin so like my own, he wore the telltale Invader uniform I had once had the (dis)pleasure of donning every day.  That explained his rigid pose; this one appeared to be purebred Invader, through and through.

            It wasn't hard to tell he was an alien, though.  Maybe this human wasn't as smart as I gave him credit for, but, whatever.  I was intrigued now. 

            I turned back to him, finding that he was looking hopefully up at me, waiting to see if I was going to vindicate his very existence or crush him like a bug.  I toyed with the latter, but decided it would be more beneficial to remain on good terms with him, so when I opened my mouth and said, "Oh my God, Dib, you've actually found one!" his face lit up.

            "I'm so glad you can see him!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet.  "No one else can see him for what he really is!"  That's because your race is moronic.  "His name's Zim, and I'm not sure what his species is, but I think it's called Irken or something."  Very good, some leads now, and though the name Zim didn't ring a specific bell, it certainly sounded Irken.  "That little dog thing is a robot.  It's supposed to be a minion or something, but it's not very good."  Ah.  A SIR.  Something I have the misfortune (or fortune, as I see it) not to posses.  And a good thing, too.  This one looked like it was seriously malfunctioning.

            "This is big," I said excitedly as he stopped to draw breath.  "You've got to tell me all you know about him!  Does he live around here?  Can we, like, spy on his home or something?"

            "His base," Dib corrected.  "And yes.  He's close.  It's hard to get close to his base at times—he's got these gnome things that guard it—but I can take you now if you want.  It'd probably be a good time to try and sneak in, since he's here and not there!"

            And that was how I found myself, not just that afternoon but numerous, numerous times later, spying with Dib on the base of Invader Zim.

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Shout out time!  

Faith:  I'm glad you like it!  T' answer your question, ZaiFae looks sort of like Red, only a little bit taller and with antennae sort of like Tak's, only more rectangular.  She wears a outfit basically like the one the Tallest wore in The Nightmare Begins, but with a few little differences.  Here's your kumquat!  *Throws it at you* 

Which reminds me, MetaChi, you get a kumquat too!  *Toss*

Hey, guess what?  Had anyone here ever watched an ep of Invader Zim (which was ON TV YESTERDAY!!!!  *Dances*…and then watched Lilo and Stitch?  If you ever have, have you noticed the Pleakley and Purple sound the same?  'Cause they do.  I heard it!  And then I checked on the credits for Zim and the credits for Lilo and Stitch, and I found out that they're voiced by the same guy!  Kevin Hamilton Mcdonald.  Yep.  *Nods*  Just so y'all know.

I'll be leaving now.  Review Please!!!!!


	5. Captured!

Here's chapter five!  (What a wonderfully short intro!) Language warning ahead!

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He's been here five years now, and I finally think something's happening, something Dib never suspected, something I was worried would happen, almost since day one.

            As the years passed, Dib and I became fast friends.  I admit, we probably used each other a bit.  I used him to get close to Zim, to spy on the only member of my species within six solar systems, and Dib used me to get around the world on the few occasions we could sneak away together to follow up leads on some paranormal phenomenon other than Zim.  Our most visited place was Chile; the last known haunt of the Chupacabras, a creature both of us found we had a weakness for.

            Dib's biggest fear was that Zim would conjure some alien army from the sky to rain doom and destruction on humankind.  Since Dib didn't have quite the inside knowledge I did, he wasn't able to tell Zim was a laughingstock among his kind, and even though I wasn't present for the things he did, I could get the feeling why.  My biggest fear wasn't that he would summon the Armada; it was…well, one of two things, actually.  One fear was that Zim would discover who I actually was and reveal my location to the Tallest, probably resulting in my slow and painful death.  The other was that the Tallest would realize exactly how much raw slave power was contained on this planet, and loathe they may be to do it, send a slaving excursion to see what exactly could be made of the human race.  

            And tonight, that fear was being realized.  Dib didn't associate his newfound ease at penetrating Zim's base with my sudden accompaniment on his trips, but I knew the reason we could now sneak up to the windows and peer through them for hours was because of my Irken genes.  Tonight, some inane reason had caused Zim to communicate with his leaders not in the deep safety of his true base, but in his living room.

            Dib was eagerly soaking in everything he could but I couldn't bring myself to look at the screen, so I listened, and looked just about anywhere else but into Zim's house.  Over the past years, I had been able to deal with the demons of my past by fusing them into one entity.  The Tallest.  They were no longer individuals to me.  It was harder to make that distinction when I was forced to look at them, so when I could afford not to, I didn't.

            If Zim ever noticed that the majority of his transmissions to the Tallest were none-too-covert jokes, he didn't show it, and he definitely didn't show that he acknowledged the change in tone this night from most others.  

            "So, Zim," one of them said.  "How many of these human-thingies live on this planet?"

            "Several billion, sirs," he replied.  "Six, at least.  Billion, that is.  They just won't stop—"

            "Yeah, yeah, that's nice.  How are they, like, physically?  Strong?  Weak?"

            "Tall?  Short?"

            "Some are tall, my sirs," Zim said humbly, "and some are short.  There's actually a great deal of variation."  Hmm.  Maybe he did acknowledge the difference.  Tonight, he wasn't being egomaniacal.  "Physically, there is also much variation, both between individuals of both genders and individuals in the same gender."

            "Ah, but the main question here is will they make good slaves?"

            "Oh yes, sirs, of course, sirs!" Zim said enthusiastically.  "The stink-beasts have no brain capacity!  They could be taught commands, but will undoubtedly have no will to rebel!"  I rolled my eyes.  Obviously, this young Irken hadn't been paying attention in history class.  Tsk, tsk.  I'd have to slip his teacher an anonymous note and correct that little problem!  Zim continued on, either completely oblivious to the workings of the mass human psyche or leaving bits of it out.  The way he described the race of the planet I lived on, you'd have thought they'd make ideal slaves!  Judging by the way Dib tensed beside me, though, he didn't agree, and neither did I. 

            "Zim," the Tallests interrupted sternly.  "Can you obtain a couple of specimens of these human-thingies to transport here for us to assess?"

            "Of course, my Lords," he said, voice suddenly smooth and quite delighted-sounding.  "I'd be perfectly willing too!  And I know just the two as well!"  By then, though, the Tallest had signed off, leaving Zim to exultantly crow these last few words to a blank screen.  I grabbed Dib roughly by the arm and pulled him away, past the perimeter of the property.  For once, the rather opinionated lad was silent.  

            "Well, this could pose a problem," I hissed when I was sure we were out of his absolute hearing range…barring any tech devices, of course.  Dib just shook his head and gestured for me to follow him.  

            When we were safe in his father's lab under his house, he turned to me.  "This poses more than a problem," he said tersely.  "Zim could be out capturing humans left and right for his race's sadistic experiments!!  We've got to find some way to stop him!"  I stared in disbelief for a moment.

            "Did you not hear a word that pathetic excuse for an Invader said?" I snapped.  "He's coming for us! Not one of the kids in your class; not that creepy old lady who walks her lawnmower; not one of the free-form poets who work in that coffee shop I like!  Us!"

            "I…uh…yeah, I know," he admitted finally.  "But…we can stop him!  We've always been able to before! I know we can this time too!"  I didn't say anything.  Part of me knew that Dib had a good point.  Zim was one of THE most inept Irkens I had ever seen!  On the other hand, the look on his face when They told him he had to send them some subjects…I had never seen a look like that on his face.  Not on Zim's.  I abruptly bid Dib goodbye and turned on one heel, no longer in the mood to talk.  I had countermeasures to come up with.  He trailed me to the door, still talking, but I think my brain had disengaged by then, and I wasn't listening.

            Nestled deep within the lab installed underneath the modest home I had taken on the outskirts of this city, I pulled up every file on Zim I had, be they gathered by Dib or by myself.  I was trying to figure out how he would come after us, for I was sure it was us he'd come after.  Several hours searching, though, and I didn't turn up a thing that we hadn't seen before and couldn't easily counteract.  I kicked out at the computer console, spinning myself away and bumping against the far wall of the room.  With a sigh that sounded more like a hiss, I got to my feet and paced the room once.  I pulled one hand through my antennae, wincing slightly as I pulled a little too hard.   I could feel the energy building in me, and knew if I didn't find a release soon, something would probably end up being lopped in half.

            I thought that simply hanging out on the roof, enjoying the clear night would be enough.  I was wrong.  I thought the walk downtown, strolling the nearly deserted sidewalks, would be enough.  I was wrong.  I thought that a stroll in the midnight park would be enough.  Once again, I was wrong.

I had to reassure myself, I realized as 1:00 quietly slipped into 2:00.  So, after checking cursorily around to make sure I was alone, I deployed my mech legs from my pod and took to the roofs.  A quieter, faster way of travel, I arrived at Zim's in a few moments.  Clinging to the eave with two of the mechs, I quietly lowered myself over the edge and peered in one of the windows.

To my surprise, Zim was in there…and so was Dib.  I flicked on my holo projector and continued to watch, antennae perked to pick up the sounds best.  Zim was, predictably, happily proclaiming his VICTORY!  Well, his half-victory, anyway.  Dib was apparently unconscious, but other than that he looked okay—if 'okay' is read as 'I couldn't see any blood.'  I leaned my head against the glass.

"Yesss," Zim was hissing, hands clasped menacingly in front of him.  "The Dib-monkey has been vanquished!  Now only for the other hyuuuuuman, the Alex-stink!  Soon, both will be out of my hair and the path for invasion will be CLEAR!!!!"  

"Not if I can help it," I murmured under my breath.

"Zim," a rather bored mechanical voice announced lazily.  His computer.  "The second subject is right outside.  Shall I get it?"  I stiffened, flipping myself back up onto the roof.  

"Oh shit…oh SHIT!" 

I didn't even get a chance to attempt to flee.  An abrupt blossom of pain erupted at the base of my spine, just above my hips, and I half-turned in time to see a mechanical arm, equipped with a huge syringe, retract into Zim's roof.  The edges of my vision were blurring with black as the tiny Irken emerged, and, unable to help myself, I collapsed back, unconscious, before that minuscule representative of my species (and I use the term as loosely as possible) even began to approach me.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Oy, what a lame way to end a chapter.  *Growls*  Ah well.  I tried, y'know?  It took me so long to write that as the way it is!  *Shrugs*  Sorry 'bout it, folks.  Now on to the shout-outs!

Chibiheartdragon:  I'm *heart*-ed?  Aw, I feel all special now!  Yes, this truly is a sequel.  *Nods*

MetaChi:  Man, don't look at me.  I don't even know what a kumquat is!  I just like the way it sounds!  ZaiFae thanks you for your (and I quote) "wholly deserved praise!"  9.9  What am I going to do with her, eh?  NO, I didn't watch, but I heard they went thirteen for thirteen, right?  It IS about time!  XD  It was 'The Nightmare Begins!'  *Dances*  I love that ep…any one with the Tallest in it I love!   Samwise, eh?  I'll hafta check that one out!  *Cackles* Aw, you liked Zim and Dib?  I'm so happy!  I was worried I was gonna write 'em all funky.  I never did like writing Zim…

Okay, people, review, please?  Don't make me establish a review-for-updates quota, aight? *Wheedling voice*  I'd hate to have to do that…*Puppy dog eyes*  Please please please?

(Boy, do I sound pathetic or what?  Oy…)


	6. Two Demons

I have absolutely no valid excuse for why it's taken my so long to update this, and I apologize for it.  The only reason I can offer why is that I've either been abhorrently busy these past few…um…months, or that I've been abysmally lazy.  I hope that what few readers I have out there will forgive me for this and continue to read anyway.  x.X  Thanks.

XxXxXxXxX

Slowly, I came awake, and slowly, I regretted it.  My head was pounding, and I was having a hard time bringing anything into focus.  With me, and most other Irkens, that was a sure sign of an overdose of tranquilizer…damn our fast metabolisms.  I closed my eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and opened them again. 

            There was another good thing about our fast metabolisms; they allow any poisons in our systems to filter out quickly.  The open chamber we were in was very familiar to me: the Tallests' reception chamber, which also housed their very large set of teleporters.  The view was a bit distorted seeing as I was seeing it through a tempered glass tube that was barely big enough to hold my slumped form.  A pair of elaborate shackles held my wrists tight in front of me, and had they actually fastened around my wrists as opposed to the wrist guards I still wore, I'm sure there wouldn't have been feeling.  There certainly wasn't any in my feet, and it was no coincidence that there were similar shackles securing those too.

A quick shake of my head to clear my vision, and I found Dib, in the center of a cluster of Irkens, all on the shortish side and all working busily at something.  He was still out, and showed no signs of coming too any time soon.  One of them came away with a rather large syringe of that odd red blood that circulated in human veins, though how, exactly, he got it through the tube was unclear, unlike the look of disgust on his face, which was perfectly clear.  I had worn a similar expression the first time I saw human blood spilled. 

"_Now we need samples from the other one,"_ one of them said, speaking in Irken.  My native tongue was fast-paced, hard enough to keep up with when you understood it.  I was a bit out of practice in speaking it, but I managed to decode the statement in time to press away from the window that opened in the glass, to avoid the new syringe they poked in at me.  Some little instinct in the back of my head told me that as soon as they sucked some of that purple-green blood out of me and saw how not red it was, I was in trouble. 

"_Hurry up and stick that thing, will you, Selkhar?_" 

"_It keeps moving!  It's a little hard._"

It keeps moving—yeah, I'll show them it keeps moving.  I'd have never thought I could writhe quite that much in such a restrained space, but I managed to snap at least eighteen syringe tips before they gave up.

"_This one's going to be interesting to watch,_" one of them remarked snidely as he pulled away.  I couldn't help but smirk at my success—for now, I was safe.  Now all I had to do was stay awake and not let them near me for…forever.  Aw shit. 

A sudden silence fell across the room, sweeping in an almost palpable wave.  I looked up—and time seemed to stop.

They should have been walking.  Their entrance would have been a lot more dramatic if they had been, I can tell you that.  It was like a dam burst in my head, seeing the two of them again, as all those carefully repressed memories came ripping back into conscious thought.  Red and Purple.  No longer could The Tallest be merged into one entity in my mind.  No longer could I hide away the feelings and emotions they evoked in me, ignore them and pretend they didn't exist.  Seeing those two alive and apparently well was like being flashed back in time, to the day I left this hypocritical life behind.

I flicked my gaze over to Dib, who was awake and staring, before looking back at them.  They were examining the pair of us from a bit of a distance, as if afraid to come closer.  

"_Something's odd about that one,_" Red said, eyeing me in my prison.  "_It's familiar, in some way._"

            "_What are you talking about?_" Purple demanded, staring incredulously at his double.  "_It's just a human!  How can it be familiar?_"

            "_Well, look at it!_" Red exclaimed, gesturing through the window out at me.  "_The poise, the posture…that smirk!  Doesn't it look familiar to you at all?_" 

            Oh good Lord, did I still have that expression on my face?  It soon fell after that remark, that's for sure.

            "_Well, now that you mention it…no.  No it doesn't,_" Purple declared.

            "_AGH!  You're no fun!_" Red said slowly.

"_Fun?  This isn't about fun!  This is about determining if that Earth place we sent Zim is really worth trying to take over or not!_"

"_See?  What did I say?  No fun at all._" 

Yeah, no fun at all.  I could definitely agree with that one.  I drew my legs up to my chest and looped my arms about my knees, staring out distrustfully at them.  Red scrutinized me closely for a moment more before turning away, eyeing the nearest of the scientists.

"_So.  Did you get the samples from the subjects?_" he asked, arms crossed. 

"_Er, well…not really yet, sir,_" the magenta-eyed female apologized quickly.  "_The female was a bit…twitchy.  We couldn't get close enough to stick her._" 

"_What?_  _It shouldn't have been that hard!!_"

The scientist cringed.  "_I'm sorry sir, truly I am.  But…it wiggled!_"  Disbelief was written across Red's face.  "_I know, I know—the airlock?_"

"_No, no, not you,_" Purple interrupted.  "_Who was the one with the needle?_"  The scientist pointed to one of the others.  "_That guy goes out the airlock._"  I had to carefully school my expression to remain distrustful instead of disgusted as two of the burly Imperial Guards dragged the poor red-eye pointed out to the nearest airlock and chucked him out.  I looked away, locking eyes with Dib now that there weren't any intervening Irkens between us.  He looked like he was going to be sick, and I must admit I felt the same way.  I squinted my eyes shut and leaned against the glass of the tube.

"_Get samples from the other,_" I heard Red command sternly.  "_Run the standard battery of tests, and contact us when they're done._"  A chorus of salutes and salutations answered that, and I assume They left, because not a few moments later, the cloud of scientists clustered around our tubes and began to tug them away.

At least they had the decency to house us together.  A pair of chambers, side-by-side and constructed of a clear plastic, became our new homes, each complete with a bed and a not-so-privy privy.  I tumbled head-over-heels as they dumped me into mine, and was able to boast that I hadn't yet been stuck with one of their syringes.  Dib looked rather forlorn, and I decided to take it upon myself to cheer him up…and swiftly came to the conclusion that I had no idea how to.   "I'd ask what's wrong, but I already know the answer," I said, sitting down on the bed and leaning against the partition between us.

"Kind of hard not to," he remarked bitterly.

"Oh, buck up, bucko," I said.  "Think about it.  If there are two people on Earth with the ability to get away from an alien command ship, it's us."  Dib sat back, staring at me, before beginning to laugh.  It wasn't a laugh of relief, or belief, or happiness.  It was a bitter thing, and he was shaking his head at me.

"Don't delude yourself, my friend.  Don't delude yourself."

I was taken aback.  This was a rather abrupt change in my friend, but everyone reacts differently to times of hardship, I suppose, and for a guy like Dib, this was a time of hardship comparable only to the invasion of Earth.  I drew my knees up to my chest again and sighed.  Dib remained silent, and I was at a loss of things to say.  Unable to distract myself by chattering with him, my mind turned down its own morbid path.

"Uh…Alex?" 

"Mmmmm?"

"We gonna die here?"

_Hell yes, you moron. _ "I—I don't know.  I hope not."

"Okay."

XxXxXxXxX

So there it is.  That chapter.  Um…not much to say.

MetaChi:  ZF was disguised…um…but she…um…crud.  That's just an oversight on my part.  Let's just say Zim doesn't know she's her yet, 'kay?  .  You know, I don't know if they did or not.  Probably, though.  Probably.  Yeah, they claim the dog theory all the time when dealing with beasties like the Chupa…silly nonbelievers, all of them!  O.O

LunaLovegood61:  Hey, many thanks, Luna-Kat.  .  I'm glad to hear that, because it means I have some hope of creating fiction that works outside of fandoms.  Woohoo!

Chibiheartdragon:  Y'know what?  I think so too.  Here's some more of the story—hopefully you think this is as great as the rest of it!

And now, I have a special surprise for those of you out there:  another chapter!  Yep, as an apology for taking SO long to write this, I'm posting two at once!  .  So read on, and stuffs!


	7. Stuck!

The hours wore on, and Dib was soon asleep; an adrenaline shock, unless I missed my guess.  The exhausted sleep of a captured animal on its first night in a hostile habitat, and I only wished I could join him in it.  But however unforgiving this clear-sided cell may have been to my earthen friend, it was infinitely more so for me.  I knew, that the moment I allowed any of them to get close enough to jab me with one of those wicked syringes, I was as good as dead—better. 

In an attempt to keep myself awake, I spent my time looking around, cataloguing my surroundings and eavesdropping on the conversations of the scientists, of which there were always two or three present.  Our chambers sat alone in the center of a much, much larger room, ringed with banks and banks of computers and other rather questionable-looking instruments of scientific discovery.  A single door in or out of each chamber, and a single large one in and out of the main room, though there was a smaller emergency door tucked away between a pair of computer banks.  The scientists were all occupied in analyzing the blood sample they had liberated from Dib, and many appeared interested in continuing tests on him, but they had orders from higher up to analyze samples from both of us before going on.  And if I had anything to do with it, they'd never get those samples.

Knowing my luck, I would soon have very little to do with it. 

A meal arrived about the time Dib woke up, although I wasn't so sure it could even charitably be called food, at least of the human variety.  Dib randomly picked at his, but I refused to touch mine.  It smelled funny, and it was a different kind of funny than my fellow prisoner's smelled. So I delicately pushed the plate away, sat back on my bed, and crossed my arms obstinately over my chest.  The scientists sat about muttering and theorizing about why I wouldn't eat, but only I knew the reason:  I wasn't stupid.  That "food" was laced with something to make me go out fast, and I wasn't taking it.

Time continued to pass.  It was mostly silent in our cubes, either Dib or I attempting to strike up the occasional round of small talk, which quickly fizzled and died, assuming it started at all.  As they say, denial isn't just a river in Egypt, and Dib and I were swimming it.  I wasn't the only one eyeing the observation cameras and the exits, trying to determine the best route of a breakout.  And I wasn't the only one who came to the inevitable conclusion that, barring some freak accident, we weren't getting out under our own power.  I could tell it in Dib's posture, on the second day, in the way he leaned against the wall or lay prone on the bed.  The kid was taking it hard, and I felt bad for him.  I would have sworn he would have been one of those types who are overly optimistic about it all through the whole thing, only to lead us oppressed humanoids to freedom at the last minute.  Ah, you know the type; you see them in movies all the time.  They're the heroes.

Where Dib remained a lump on his cot, I took to pacing about my cell, trying to stay awake and having a reasonably good time confusing the hell out of my observers.

"_That one's behavior is erratic,_" I heard one remark to another on one occasion.  "_Is it typical for the females to refuse to eat and sleep—_"

"_And defecate?_"

"—_On a regular basis like this? And man, you are gross!_"

"_Oh, shut up.  I don't know._"

I had to carefully school myself to remain indifferent, which wasn't really hard because by now I was exhausted, but it was pretty funny.  I was fading fast, though, I could tell.  I had to force myself to remain upright and mobile, because if I went down, I would be fast and hard, and I wouldn't wake up for a while. 

"Alex, what are you doing?" Dib asked me at one point.

"Trying not to go to sleep."

"Why??"

"I don't know."

"Okay.  Whatever."

More silence after that, and as if I couldn't stop it, I slowly took a seat on the edge of my cot…slowly stretched out on it, tucking my arms under my bit of pillow and supporting my head…slowly closed my eyes…and quickly dive-bombed into a deep sleep.

XxX

My eyes snapped open an indiscriminate time later, and I bolted upright, glad to find the uncomfortable slightly padded plastic of my cot still under me.  There was a pain in my arm at the elbow, accompanied by a small puncture wound.  I groaned, dropping my head into my hands.  Yep.  It was over now.  I looked up to find Dib staring at me.

"Did you know your blood is purple?" he asked warily. 

"Strain," I dismissed it weakly.  "Starvation.  I haven't eaten.  Could be it."  He stared warily at me.

"If you say so…" he said slowly, but I could tell he didn't believe me.  I couldn't find it in myself to care.

That problem taken care of, I glanced around.  The gentle hum of machinery and murmur of a few scientists had been replaced by the incessant jabber of MANY scientists.  The room seemed to be filled with those red and purple-coated Irkens, all of a moderate height.  (Random fact for ya, there.)  A big monitor had emerged high on one wall, displaying a twisting triple-helix strand of DNA.  My DNA, I was sure.  Muttered snatches of conversations reached my antennae, just flashes of it, because the volume of the sound was overwhelming.

"_—Thought it was a double helix—_"

"_—Doesn't look human to me_—"

"_—Almost Irken, unless I miss my guess_—"

"_—Someone contact the Tallest, they need to know_—"

My face blanched, and thanks to my wonderfully advanced technology (insert biting sarcasm here please, thanks!), so did my holographic one.

"Something wrong, Alex?" Dib asked, sounding concerned.

"There's so many of them," I ad-libbed, doing my best to sound terrified. 

"Yeah, I know," he agreed.  I looked rapidly around the room, eyes stopping on the doors, which were majestically sweeping open.  Again, silence fell like a wave as the Tallest entered side-by-side, glancing around imperiously.  They stood head and shoulders above all but the tallest of the scientists there—well, the scientists and me.  As I slowly got to my feet, stock-still and staring, they stared right back.  Er, check that; Red stared back.  Purple looked bored.

"_Well?_" Red snapped.  "_What's the deal? You said something was up.  Do you have results for us or not?_"  The tallest of the scientists snapped to attention, giving them a smart salute before gesturing up at the screen.

"_We don't have all the results you requested yet, my sirs,_" she said, holding up her hands to forestall a response.  "_But, that's just because we just acquired the samples for the female, and…well, they're a little unexpected._"

"_What do you mean unexpected?_" Red demanded, turning to look at the screen.  "_That DNA looks Irken…does the other's look like that?_"

"_No, my sir,_" the scientist said excitedly.  "_That's what's up!  We're almost sure the DNA is…well…Irken.  Or something very like it._"  Red stared at her. 

"_So run a scan.  We have the DNA of every living Irken on file, see who matches it the closest._"

"_We've already started it, my liege,_" she said.  "_We'd assumed you'd want us to.  It should be done any minute now._"  The scarlet-clad Irken nodded, and I sat back down on my cot.  I had never known it could be so hard to act ignorant, and it was really hard to not look more apprehensive than just a creature among aliens.  For effect, I pressed close to the window where Dib was.

"What's going on?" I hissed.  I knew that the Tallest, at least, could speak English, but I wasn't sure if any of the other Irkens could.

"I don't know," Dib said with a shrug.  "It doesn't look good, though."

"No.  It doesn't."

"_Scan done, my Tallest!_" one of the others reported suddenly, swinging around in a chair to face them, face apprehensive.

"_And?_" Red prompted.

"_Well…um…the closest DNA match we found is…yours, my sir._"

XxXxXxXxXxX

Hah!  Cliffhanger!  XP  Read and review, please, and maybe next time I won't put off updating for so long!  XD


	8. WHAT?

I bring you all another update. Slight language warning. Enjoy!

XxXxXxXxX

My jaw dropped. Red's jaw dropped. Purple's jaw dropped. My jaw rapidly closed, though, despite the fact that my ruse was as good as shattered. As one, the scientists all turned their eyes to Red, then, in a wave, to me, then back to Red.

"What is going on?" Dib demanded in a hushed voice.

"I don't know," I lied, glancing down at the floor and up again. Red was staring at me, eyes narrowed. Suddenly, he transformed into the picture of perfect wrath, eyes snapping, body tense.

"_What are you waiting for??_" he snapped, staring around. "_Get that thing out of there! Find out what the hell is going on!_" Already, a wave of the scientists was swarming towards the door, eager to please their Tallest. "_Wait. On second thought, bring it to my private chamber. Let me deal with it._" He glanced around at them, pointing at the tallest of the scientists. "_You. You come too._" She snapped a salute, and all of them stood at attention until their leaders were gone, sweeping from the room with the head scientist in tow. As soon as the door swung shut, the inhabitants of the room burst into movement, more than a large number of them unlocking the door and swarming inside. I scrambled back away from them, kicking out and punting one of the nearest across the way, but…well, there were a lot of Irkens in there, and a girl can only do so much.

-----------------

So that's how I found myself, wrists shackled behind my back, being shoved roughly through the halls of the Massive. It was a long walk, but only because I was being led pretty much in circles, a tactic that would have worked had I not already been far too familiar with the layout of the colossal ship. Eventually, we came to the door of the Tallest's private room. One of my guides opened the door, and I was shoved inside. The doors snapped shut, and my doom was sealed.

I hopped to my feet, not wanting to be down on the floor in front of _him_. My mind was racing, and I could feel my whole body getting tense. I didn't have to look very far before I spotted that fiery Tallest, seeing as he was standing right there in front of me, with the scientist standing just behind, and Purple lounging on a couch in the background.

I tried to open my eyes wide and look appropriately terrified, but the façade crumbled with an intense glare from him, and I could only do my best to stand tall and try to look intimidating.

"_They say your DNA isn't human,_" he said slowly, hands clasped behind his back. "_But you look human enough to me, at least compared to our other specimen. I wonder why that is?_"

"Sorry, pal, I have no idea what you're saying," I said flippantly.

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Good thing I can understand what you're saying."

"Shit."

"Perhaps. That depends." He moved forward, the equivalent of a few steps. "So, since that language barrier was so quickly surmounted, maybe you can tell us why your DNA is a completely different shape that your little friend's?"

"I have…AIDS," I declared, thinking on the fly.

"What?!"

"Yeah! AIDS! It's a disease on my planet," I said quickly, ad-libbing and really, really hoping these guys didn't know what AIDS really was. "It warps DNA…does some pretty bad stuff and…stuff." He looked disbelieving. "Er…and I used to take LSD!!" This one wasn't too far from the truth—okay, it was the truth. (I still don't see what the humans like about it so much.) "That warps DNA too!" Red shook his head.

"And don't you think it's a little funny that your disease-warped DNA happens to uncannily imitate mine?"

"…No?"

He stood up straight, sighing and shaking his head. "_The poor thing doesn't think it's odd that our DNA is similar!_" he remarked to the others.

"_Well, actually, my liege, it's identical,_" the female broke in timidly. "_To the particle…except for the parts that indicate gender, of course._" I went pale at that…what did she mean, identical? That was virtually impossible; there were programs monitoring smeet activation to make sure that if genetic clones were somehow mistakenly produced, one would be destroyed. This was a bit…unreal.

Apparently, my shock showed on my face, because as Red turned back to me, a smirk appeared on his. "_So maybe you do have some idea what I'm saying, eh?_" he asked, moving forward again, until he was just in front of me.

"So maybe I don't." So maybe I'm an idiot. His eyes lit up, and before I knew it, he was behind me, my pack was open, and the human body I was used to living in by now was flickering—flickering—gone! He stepped back around, the expression on his face triumphant, until he got a good look at who I really was. Then his face fell. I sneered, more for effect than anything.

"_By the past Tallest,_" Purple murmured, sitting up abruptly, antennae perked forward. My own were flat against my head, and I took a step back, away from the both of them, glancing back at the door through which I had entered. Purple rose slowly to his feet even as Red closed the distance between us, taking me roughly by the arm and pulling me away from the exit.

"_You've already pulled that little stunt,_" he said warningly, though there was a decidedly fake smile on his face. His grip on my arm tightened as we got closer to his co-ruler, and I shuddered to feel his fingers on me. I ducked my head and tried to ignore it. The scientist was staring, and as we passed her, I glared. She shrunk away. "_And here I was, thinking we were only dealing with some freak freeborn on stilts!_" Red remarked, snugging a tense arm around my shoulders and pinning me to his side. I growled under my breath; being called a freeborn was almost an insult. The freeborn were a group of Irkens who had split from the Irken Empire some time in the distant past, after a crash on a desolate planet. The empire had refused to send them help, so they had declared themselves separate, and immediately set about making more of themselves. They lost several of the females, but eventually one of them gave birth to a smeet, and this one was not fitted with one of the packs standard to our kind; there were none to be had. It became a mark of pride among them to not wear packs, but with so few on the planet, they had to interbreed to keep on. Generally, the freeborn are regarded as a group of inbred genetic accidents…and most of 'em are pretty short, too.

"_I resent that remark,_" I muttered.

"_Resent, or resemble?_" Red asked with a smirk. I opted not to answer, casting a glance instead at Purple to distract my eyes and my mind. He was staring, and looking more than a little dumbstruck. "_By your silence, I'm assuming you choose resemble. Good choice._"

"_Oh shut up,_" I snapped, resisting the urge to kick him in the shins.

"_Dear me,_" he said idly, leaning back and looking at me, a sympathetic expression on his face. "_You don't quite get the way this works, do you? Here, let me spell it out for you. You are ZaiFae Luthuviel, the self-styled assassin who attempted to kill me and then hi-jacked a Royal Flagship from the Armada to make your escape. I am the Almighty Tallest Red, ruler—_"

"_Co-ruler!_"

"—_Co-ruler of the Irken Empire. You don't happen to be in any position to be giving me, or anyone else, for that matter, any kind of commands._" Red smirked again, secure in the correctness of his logic, and I mirrored his expression with one of my own. Had these been normal circumstances, between Red and any other Irken, or even between he and I in the past, he would have been right, but not any more.

"_But I,_" I said, supremely, maybe even overly, confident, "_am taller than you._" That stopped him short, and as he roughly stepped back, eyes flicking up and down at me. I stared levelly back, wishing my arms were free so I could cross them. We were on the same eye-level, but then…well, he was hovering several inches off the floor. I was not. I couldn't help but smile smugly at him when the look of realization flicked across his face, but I withdrew when it was replaced with a look of anger. He started forward, slamming his hands into my chest and catching my ankles with an outstretched leg. I fell back, and though the over-stuffed couch broke my fall, the back of my head cracked against its spine. My vision was immediately clouded by swarms of multi-colored dots, and I could only try to pull myself up and shake my eyes clear as he stalked over to me, crouching down in front of the couch. A firm hand pushed me back against it.

"_You,_" he said slowly, spacing the words out, "_are not taller than me. Just thought I'd let you know._" Denial's not just a river in Egypt. I opted to again remain silent. I had no idea where this was going to go from here.

"_So, you've been hiding out on this Earth place all this time?_" Red asked conversationally, flopping unceremoniously down between Purple and I. I shrunk away from him. Purple had yet to venture a comment other than that one uttered oath, and I was resenting him for it. "_I would assume so, but I can't really tell. Feel like volunteering any info?_"

"Bugger off," I muttered, hoping that that particular injunction did not have a place in his vocabulary.

"_What was that?_" Oh good. It didn't. He shook his head. "_So how've you been faring? You look healthy enough. No ill luck or anything on your journeys?_" Why did he care? It wasn't like he liked me much or anything, that was easy enough to tell. I looked away. "_Not much of a talker tonight, eh?_" Not for you, asshole. Boy, it's a good thing he's not telepathic. I heard him sigh aggrievedly, and suddenly, the couch rebounded somewhat as he swept to his feet.

"_Fine!_" he said theatrically, and to his credit, his voice sounded suitably choked with emotion. "_Don't talk to me! See what I care!_" I turned to watch as he held a hand to his forehead, arching his back and looking dramatic. Abruptly, he straightened up, spinning to face me. The light fell on him in just a way so that he was cast into sharp relief, and I think that for the first time throughout this whole thing, I was truly, deeply scared. "_Put this trash back in its cell!_" he snapped, raising his voice enough so that the guards just outside the door heard and rushed in. He pointed at me, and I saw the questioning tilt to their antennae. "_Give it…oh…a quarter of what its little buddy gets to eat, and don't listen to a thing it says, especially not about being taller than us! Get a pack-negater on it, and have it monitored around the clock!_" When the two guards hesitated, he narrowed his eyes, fell silent for a moment, and screamed, "_NOW!_"

Immediately, the two rushed forward, grabbing me up and off the couch. They weren't too gentle, not when they were still in the chamber. With the scientist trailing behind, they manhandled me out the door. Before it swung shut I cast one glance back, but it was not meant for the self-satisfied statue in red; it was for that unmoving, unmoved vision of a past life. And still, he made no move to defend me or to defend Red, no decision either way. It was as if…as if he didn't care.

Then the doors snapped shut, and the two guards, who were at least a foot shorter than me, became a lot more respectful. They still hustled me forwards, but they weren't nearly so rough about it. The scientist, her legs working quickly to keep up, scurried ahead and peered over her shoulder at me.

"_Did—did you really attempt to assassinate my Tallest Red?_" she asked fearfully. I couldn't help but grin.

"_Nah,_" I assured her nonchalantly. "_I was just trying to stop him from assassinating me. There's a difference there._"

XxXxXxXxX

For the record, when Red says "You've already pulled that little stunt," he's referring to the incident in "What Came Before," where ZaiFae managed to escaping by backing against a door and then darting through it…

For the other record, I DO know that AIDS doesn't actually do anything to your DNA, if there was anyone out there who didn't pick that up from the context.

So yeah. I'd like to announce now that after the next chapter, I'll be changing the rating of this fic to R. Please note this, and make all necessary changes. Thank you!

MetaChi: Y'know, you'd think she's know that, but she's…kinda got a lot on her mind right now. O.O Now you know!!

Toshihiko1: I thank you for your review, and the one you left on "What Came Before." It's refreshing to get critical reviews like yours! To respond to some of the things you pointed out (in both of them):

Yes, I do realize now that ZF was a horrible Mary-Sue in that story. I consciously tried to make her a little less so in this installment, but I know I wasn't able to cut it out entirely. I apologize. Believe it or not, Red's actually my favorite Tallest—it's ZaiFae who likes Purple, and though I didn't know it at the time, she was the one writing her story. (I thought I was being all original and making it up myself, but I guess not…) Likewise, when I made my pen-name for , I hadn't yet realized that ZaiFae was a separate entity from myself. I'd change it if I had the volition to.

Now, I beg to differ with you about how tall the Tallest really are. I have a good reason at placing them in a human height range—I've noticed that when you look at Zim in relation to the Tallest, and Zim in relation to Ms. Bitters, you notice that he looks roughly the same size when compared to them both. Since he looks a little taller when compared with Bitters, that would make the Tallest taller than her, but still within human range. But that's just my rationale—as these are only my version of the Tallest, they don't have to be the same as anyone else's.

Yep, Pak's covered by the hologram.

I probably should have specified this in a chapter somewhere, but since I never do: ZaiFae's no longer in any of the databases. Since Red (in these stories) is a vindictive jerk, he promptly erased all official sign that she ever existed after she took off at the end of the last story. People who knew her would still remember her, but if they tried to track her down through official computer channels, she'd be gone.

So thank you for your reviews, and I hope I've cleared some stuff up!!

So there it is, folks. This chapter. Review? Please? More soon!


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